BERKELEY / Big developer selling off 7 apartment buildings

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, April 7, 2007

Patrick Kennedy, one of Berkeley's biggest and most controversial developers, is selling his seven apartment buildings to a Chicago real estate company, city staff said Friday.

"He's tired of managing apartments but wants to keep developing property," said City Councilwoman Dona Spring, whose downtown district includes most of Kennedy's property. "His forte is not apartment management, it's development. That's what his passion is."

Kennedy and his business partner, UC Berkeley economics Professor David Teece, did not return phone calls Friday.

Some in the city have fought his projects, claiming they were too big or incongruous with the neighborhood, but others praised his infill development and the unusual architecture of his buildings. His best-known property was the Gaia Building, a seven-story, 91-unit Mediterranean-style apartment building on Allston Way with a rooftop garden and views of the bay.

Equity Residential, which owns apartment buildings in 25 states, is the buyer. Kennedy is not selling the Act I/Act II movie theater on Center Street.